This invention relates to a device for separating individual fluids from a fluid stream that contains a mixture of permeate and nonpermeate fluids. The fluids are separated by hollow fiber members, in which the permeate fluids penetrate the walls of the hollow fibers and are carried to a collection point. The nonpermeate fluids bypass the fibers and are collected at another point.
There are several conventional devices designed for separating one fluid from another in a mixture of fluids. One of these devices, known as a Generon.RTM. air separation system (The Dow Chemical Company), is specifically designed for separating oxygen and nitrogen from a stream of air. The basic system consists of a bundle of hollow polyolefinic fibers, arranged in parallel fashion. At each end of the fiber bundle the fibers are held together by an epoxy resin tubesheet and the bundle encloses a perforated distributor tube that extends lengthwise through the bundle. The fiber bundle structure fits inside of a metal cylinder (case), so that space is defined between the periphery of the fiber bundle and the case, and between the front face of the tubesheets and the plates that close each end of the cylinder.
In a typical operation of this device, air at high pressure is passed into the open end of the distributor tube (the other end is plugged shut). As the air moves through the distributor tube it slows out of the perforations in the tube and passes into the fiber bundle. The oxygen component readily permeates the walls of the fibers and moves along the fiber bores to discharge outlets at each end of the cylinder. But the nitrogen component won't readily permeate the fiber walls. As a nonpermeate fluid, therefore, the nitrogen bypasses the fibers and is discharged through an outlet at the top of the cylinder.
The air separation module described above is not entirely satisfactory from a design standpoint. When the pressurized air moves into the fiber bundle, the force acting against the backside of each tubesheet causes the tubesheets to bend back and forth (that is, to deflect), because there is no balancing force on the front side of each tubesheet. The deflection puts a considerable amount of stress on the tubesheets at the point where they are joined to the distributor tube. Since the "connection" point is only a small area of each tubesheet, the tubesheet will frequently crack at this juncture, or at some other place.
The present invention overcomes the problem described above. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated herein the deflection of each tubesheet, caused by the pressure acting against its backside, is reduced by providing a physical support at the periphery of the tubesheet. A reduction in deflection equates directly to a reduction in stress, and thus eliminates cracking. At one end of the fiber bundle, the physical support is fixed; at the other end the support is adjustable, to provide for fiber bundles of varying length.